Peter Walker advises that entries have been received or indicated from:

• Writtle
• Shell/Wickford (a joint team since neither club was able to field a full team)
• Ilford
• Chelmsford
• Maldon
• Barking

The league is therefore in being. Play will take place at the Hurford Hall at St Lawrence Church, Upminster, on the following dates:

Saturday 20th November 2004

Sunday 30th January 2005

Saturday 19th February *subject to change due to a changed County fixture

Saturday 19th March

Saturday 16th April

for a 5-hour playing session in each case, starting at 12.30. Six boards a side.

The following section, which is retained for historical purposes, is based on an email circular from Peter Walker on 9th December 2003 to Organisers, Clubs and Players.

From: Peter Walker
62 East Street
Southend-on-Sea
Essex
SS2 6LH

Tel: 01702 309693

Email: ecawl@chesspod.com
Website: ecawl.chesspod.com

Dear Organiser / Club Secretary / Chess Player,

The Essex Chess Association is considering the possibility of establishing for the 2004/2005 season a new County League in which matches are to be played at a central venue at weekends. Although this proposal is at an early stage, at an exploratory meeting of interested parties the following suggestions were made:-

• play will take place on five Saturdays / Sundays, one in each of October, November, January, February and March
• all participating teams, which may or may not represent existing Clubs, will all meet at the venue for a single match on the day in question
• there will be six teams in each division, with promotion and relegation at the end of each season
• the playing session should be sufficiently long to allow for a fairly leisurely rapidplay finish (e.g. 40 moves in 2 hours followed by 30 minute windback)
• the venue should be fairly central to attract teams from all over the County (maybe even from outside Essex), and the Anglo-European School in Ingatestone was suggested as being within easy reach of the A12 and not too far from a station
• every effort would be made to avoid clashes with the existing County chess calendar and the SCCU Controller would be approached to see if it is viable to keep the weekends in question free of County matches for Essex teams

Clubs and others have been circulated by email with the text of this page, but all views are welcome to enable us to guage the likely support for this venture. Also, whether a Saturday or a Sunday would be preferred; it is all useful information. Please let me know the Club / Organisation you represent or whether you are replying in an individual capacity.

A likely breakdown of costs will be displayed at the ECAWL Website (http://ecawl.chesspod.com), as will details of developments as they become known. It is hoped that we can submit a formal set of proposals to the ECA's General Purpose Committee Meeting in March.

Peter Walker